User:Pnrj/Homer Alfred Neal

Homer Neal was born 13 Jun 1942 in Franklin, Kentucky, not an easy time or place to be African-American. He credits his early interest in science to experience in the hobby of amateur radio.

He earned his BS at Indiana University in 1961, his MS at the University of Michigan in 1963, and his PhD at Michigan in 1966. Soylent Communications (2012). “NNDB Mapper: Homer A. Neal.” http://www.nndb.com/people/313/000127929/ His doctoral thesis research was directed by Michael Longo, on spin correlation in high-energy proton collisions, Indiana University (2012). “University Honors and Awards: Homer Neal.” http://www.iu.edu/~uha/search-awards/honoree.phtml?id=150 work which continues today.

In 1967 he returned to Indiana University, where he became a professor of physics; there he was promoted to dean in 1976. In 1972 he became a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 1980, Neal became a Guggenheim Fellow at Indiana University Bloomington, where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 1984.Indiana University (2012). “University Honors and Awards: Homer Neal.” http://www.iu.edu/~uha/search-awards/honoree.phtml?id=150

In 1981, Neal moved to New York and became the provost of SUNY Stony Brook, where he worked until 1986. While at Stony Brook he participated in the DZERO collaboration, which later led to the discovery of the top quark in 1995. Neal, H. (2000). “Personal Bio: Homer A. Neal.” http://www-personal.umich.edu/~haneal/hanealbio.html

In 1987, Neal returned to the University of Michigan and became chair of the Physics Department. Soylent Communications (2012). “NNDB Mapper: Homer A. Neal.” http://www.nndb.com/people/313/000127929/ He was appointed Interim President of the University of Michigan when James J. Duderstadt retired on July 1, 1996. Michigan Today (March 1996). “Physicist Homer Neal is U-M’s interim president.” http://michigantoday.umich.edu/96/Mar96/mta03m96.html In that role he actively promoted diversity on campus, Michigan Today (Fall 1996). “Neal outlines goals of interim presidency.” http://michigantoday.umich.edu/96/Fall96/mta7f96.html establishing the President’s New Century Fund for Diversity to support the Michigan Agenda for Women and the Michigan Mandate. University of Michigan News Service (20 Jan 1997). “Interim President Homer Neal announces new fund for diversity.” http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/1377-interim-president-homer-neal-announces-new-fund-for-diversity

Neal became a member of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company in 1997. Ford Motor Company (2013). “Homer Neal.” http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=98 He is also a member of the board of directors of Covanta Energy, BusinessWeek (2013). “Executive Profile: Ford Motor Company: Homer Neal.” http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=568010&ticker=F&previousCapId=106335&previousTitle=Ford%20Motor%20Co formerly known as Ogden Corporation. In 2002, Neal was selected to chair the National Computational Science Alliance External Advisory Council at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Green, K. (22 Jan 2002). “UM Physicist Homer Neal to Lead Alliance External Advisory Council.” NCSA News. http://access.ncsa.illinois.edu/Releases/02Releases/01.22.02_UM_Physici.html

In 2003, Neal was awarded the Edward A. Bouchet Award by the American Physical Society, "For his significant contributions to experimental high energy physics, for his important role in formulating governmental science policy, for his service as a university administrator at several universities, and for his advocacy of diversity and educational opportunity at all levels." American Physical Society (2003). “Edward A. Bouchet Award Recipient: Homer Alfred Neal, University of Michigan.” http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?first_nm=Homer&last_nm=Neal&year=2003

Before working on the ATLAS project, Neal had already collaborated with CERN for nearly 40 years. Science Daily (5 Sep 2008). “Michigan Integral to World's Largest Physics Experiment.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153755.htm His part of the ATLAS project is heavily involved in developing computer software tools to aid collaboration between CERN and US universities; this work has required him to divide his time between Ann Arbor and Geneva. Hamon, A.C. (22 Sep 2008). “Smashing success: University of Michigan scientists helped bring collider online.” Ann Arbor News. http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/09/smashing_success_um_scientists.html

In 2009, Neal delivered a presentation at the Spin Physics Symposium, entitled “The History of Spin at Michigan”. Neal, H.A. (14 Nov 2009). “History of Spin at Michigan.” http://www.umich.edu/~mctp/SciPrgPgs/events/2010/Spin/Talks/Neal-spin_history11.pdf In 2012, he presented a lecture entitled “Hyperon Studies in the ATLAS Experiment” at the Flavor Physics and CP Violation Conference in Hefei, China. Neal, H.A. (21 May 2012). “Hyperon Studies in the ATLAS Experiment.” Flavor Physics and CP Violation Conference. http://indico.cern.ch/getFile.py/access?contribId=12&sessionId=8&resId=1&materialId=slides&confId=194267

Neal is a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and has previously served on the Board of Trustees of Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab. He also co-authored the book Beyond Sputnik: US Science Policy in the 21st Century in 2008. Neal, H.A., Smith, T.L., and McCormick, J.B. (2008). Beyond Sputnik: US Science Policy in the 21st Century. University of Michigan Press. http://www.science-policy.net/

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